in Older People

According to self-report measures, acute pain probably occurs at much the same rate across all age groups. Chronic pain is experienced more by older people, but this increase does not continue beyond the seventh decade. The elderly often experience chronic pain in the joints, back, legs, and feet; they appear to suffer less visceral pain and headache than younger people. The plateau in overall chronic pain prevalence with age may reflect a balance between age-related impairment of the nociceptive function of the nervous system and an increase in the pathological load that accompanies old age. The contribution of other dimensions of the pain experience to this equation can only be discovered through longitudinal studies that focus primarily on pain rather than addressing pain as an ancillary to other aspects of aging.